Ariam is a student in the PREM program at CHESS.
Ariam's project consists of the development of a shielding for the detectors used in one of the beamlines at CHESS.
What is your home institution and your expected graduation year?
My home institution is the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus. I expect to graduate in May 2024.
Which CLASSE summer program are you a part of and who is your mentor?
I am from the Partnerships for Research and Education (PREM) program. My mentors during the summer are the CHESS staff scientist Christopher Pollock and my home institution professor Ratnakar Palai.
What is the research you are engaged in and what have you accomplished so far this summer? What are you hoping to accomplish by the end of your project?
My summer project consists of the development of a shielding for the detectors used in one of the beamlines at CHESS. The PIPOXS beamline can work with x-ray emission and x-ray absorption spectroscopy. The emission equipment, called DAVES (Dual Analyzer Valence Emission Spectrometer), consists of an array of analyzers, sample holder and two photocounting detectors. Some samples can generate weak signals that can be lost with the background noise. Thus, a shield in front of the detector is needed to reduce the background noise. I have studied the geometrical configuration of DAVES and calculated mathematically how the x-rays arrive to the detectors for every configuration. Then I determined the dimension of a shield that does not block the studied x-rays but that reduces the background noise. The shields were modeled using Inventor software with the guidance of CHESS operator Ryan Ford and they were 3D printed. Various shields were developed but only the first one was tested at the beamline.
Additionally, during the summer I learned how to do DFT (Density Functional Theory) calculations using ORCA for geometrical optimization of molecules and XES calculations.
What are the impacts of your research for the general public?
At PIPOXS beamline, a lot of research is done with applications in energy materials, electrochemical systems, and catalysis. Developing and optimizing the shield of the detector will benefit all the research involving x-ray emission. Thus, it will benefit all the research that is fighting climate change and other environmental problems. Also, it will benefit the staff scientist in charge of the beamline when it comes to changing shields and aligning the equipment.
What are you enjoying most about this research/summer experience?
The best part of the summer program for me is having the opportunity to work with a scientific community in a research lab like Wilson and feel like I am part of the community. The people at Wilson and CHESS are welcoming and available to help with whatever is needed. Also, I am enjoying all the beautiful places in Ithaca, the concerts, the food places and having time with friends I have met. I would really recommend this experience to anyone who wants to see how it feels to be a scientist while having a life outside work.
What are you finding the most challenging about this research?
The most challenging part was to consider possible alignment error of the equipment into the calculations of the shield dimensions. There is no way to quantify this error and thus, other models were developed to be tested in the fall.
How has this experience changed your view about being a researcher?
This experience helped me to understand how different disciplines in the sciences are used together during investigations. Also, to understand, through the experience of various researchers, what the graduate school process is like and how they ended up where they are. In addition, through the communication seminars I understand the importance of scientific communication and the tools I can use to do it effectively.